BRANCHES

Branches exist in various areas around the state providing services to Members at a local level.  Branches hold regular meetings (at least five per year), conduct training, provide professional development, operate signing facilities, and have a formalised structure. 

For details of what is happening in your local area, including professional development events and opportunities to volunteer at signing centres, click on the Branch name below for contact details and local information.

For more information about an individual Branch and to contact the Branch Secretary please refer to the Branch page using the links below.

 

INTERSTATE CONTACTS

New South Wales: 

South Australia

Tasmania

Victoria

 

INTERNATIONAL CONTACTS

Hong Kong • Luca Ferrerio • [email protected]

New Zealand • Brandan Hooper •[email protected]

 

JPs In Australia

The structure of the Justice of the Peace was inherited from England when Australia was first settled in 1788. The office was subsequently inherited in Queensland in 1859 when Queensland separated from New South Wales.

Initially, the powers of English justices of the peace and Australian JPs were very similar. In fact, in some cases, Australian JPs had even greater authority, especially over convicts. However, the duties of Australian justices of the peace were fundamentally changed once the use of paid magistrates became commonplace.

Today, Australian justices of the peace share few similarities with their English counterparts. While an English justice of the peace (aided by a legally qualified clerk) customarily sits as a magistrate in court for a full day once every two weeks, most Australian justices of the peace only ever undertake administrative duties.


Read More

 

 In Australia, the office of justice of the peace is a state institution, and there does not exist national justices of the peace. Each State and Territorial government has put into place its own legislation to regulate the powers of justices of the peace and enact a framework for their hiring process. The functions and powers of a justice of the peace differ for every state. In Queensland, it is still possible for a justice of the peace to exercise certain judicial functions. However, since 1989 Victorian justices of the peace have been able to carry out only administrative tasks.

JPs can provide service in an official document signing station or from their own workplace or home without causing major disruption to their day. JPs are accessible to the general public and stakeholders on a regular basis, which means the work and hours may be adjusted as needed.

Typically, individuals in the community who need your services will make an appointment with you and then arrive. The majority of appointments are brief.

Document signing sites are all over Australia. Document signing site members operate from local sites such as police stations, libraries, courthouses, shopping centres, and more.

For those who wish to volunteer for document signing sites, you can do so by participating in the Queensland government-run program ‘JPs in the Community’. This is an excellent method to get involved in the life of a community, and help provide a valuable service.

 

Who can be a JP?

  
To become a justice of the peace in Queensland, individuals must:

 

  • be of or over the age of 18 years
  • be an Australian citizen
  • not be an insolvent under administration.

Applicants must also satisfy the Attorney-General that they:

  • He or she must have completed the training program necessary to be appointed as a JP.
  • To fulfill the demands of a JP, you must be fluent in English and have adequate experience.
    • reside in Australia
  • are considered a fit and proper person

Though this is a managerial position, you will be interacting with individuals rather than just signing documents. That's why the personal qualities listed below are so essential when selecting new JPs.

  • Self-confidence
  • Initiative and accountability
  • Self-control and discipline
  • Service focus
  • Conflict management
  • Decisiveness
  • Drive and commitment
  • Empathy and cultural awareness

Background

The Justices of the Peace (JP) in Australia today serve a much-reduced function and bear little resemblance to their earlier British counterparts, but it wasn't always so.

The colony of New South Wales, including the system of justices of the peace, was handed over existing legal institutions from England. In 1788, Governor Phillip was named as the continent's first justice of the peace with the authority to commission other judges.

He appointed a minimal number of civil and military officials as magistrates, whose main task was to manage the convict labour force. The justices were also involved in the execution of prison regulations, giving passes of leave, and administering local rules.

The position was honorary, but it was much cherished. It provided symbolic, practical, and strategic benefits to those who acquired it. Almost instinctively, appointees were typically prominent, wealthy, private individuals who subsequently became heavily engaged in administering districts under their authority.

In England, the combination of judicial and administrative powers was regarded to jeopardize the magistracy's judicial independence. Laws were passed to restructure the judiciary and codify its functions, once again removing most authorities from a justice of the peace while leaving it primarily an administrative function.

What precisely that duty entails varies across Australian jurisdictions. Being formed as an independent nation through the federation of the six founding colonies, each state (and territory) has its own legislation to govern the appointment and powers of justices of the peace. There are no national justices of the peace in Australia.

Get in Touch

If you’re trying to find a justice of the peace, or are searching for a ‘justice of the peace near me’, use our website to view a justice of the peace list and justice of the peace register. The Queensland Justices Association offers the best training and development to become the best justice of the peace QLD you can be.